What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?
>I'd cut down every...
What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?
>I'd cut down every law in England to do that.
Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned round on you -
where would you hide...the laws all being flat?
Member since:04.08.2000
Reviews:43
Members who trust:39
Personal finance is very, very boring. Let me get this straight right away, I take no pleasure in comparing relative interest rates, browsing through small print or account hopping to get the best deal. I’m not interested in it. It’s dull. Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuull. I have better things on which to fritter away my time. So, if one of these august banking institutions can provide me a service that enables me to minimise the amount of time I have to interact with them, then I'm a very happy bunny.
Many moons ago I opened up a current account with the Midland bank as it happened to be the on-campus bank at Scumbag college, the university where I first studied and have kept this ever since. Over the past six or seven years there has been a massive upheaval in banking and it has changed in many ways; changes that have included new technology, corporate consolidation and new government legislation.
The fact that I have maintained the same account over this period must be seen as a positive endorsement because of the way that Midland - or HSBC as they now are - have responded to those changes.
I've divided the rest of this opinion into three areas reflecting the main ways that I can carry out my banking, describing how these benefit me and how HSBC performs in each case.
BRANCHING OUT The handy thing about being with a High Street Bank is that you can go down to the high street and walk into a branch. I must confess that this is the option I use the least but it is handy for a number of transactions:
Depositing real cash/cheques. Happening less as more transactions are performed electronically.
You can use the machine or go to the window and interact with a real person! What fun!
Getting advice. Yes, I know I said I avoid personal finance like the plague, but every so often there comes a time when you have to confront these nasty, unpleasant issues. I have walked into several HSBC branches and asked for information and in each case have had a useful conversation with a helpful and personable individual. It may have been the janitor for all I know, but they all seemed very nice.
Oooh! Just thought of another one. Blimey, I'm almost getting excited. Foreign exchange. Should you require it in advance, you can get it here via Thomas Cook who have representatives in many (if not all) of the branches.
Additionally, in each branch these days you have a "receptionist" type person who can steer you in the right direction and deal with basic queries. Handy for reducing the queues at the tellers' windows. This is the type of service that has evolved since banks have had to get more customer friendly and "open plan" and it's no bad thing. These days it's all comfy sofas and pens that work, the aforementioned tellers' windows are way at the back almost hidden away, a relic of an earlier age.
Compare this to my local Northern Rock building society (another competitor for my hard earned savings). Pleasant enough though the staff were, walking in there was like walking back into the seventies. To be honest the Halifax weren't much better, although they did have pine flooring.
Anyhoo, the final advantage is that unlike a few years ago I can now walk into any branch and have them deal with my affairs without it mattering what branch I am registered at, with zero fuss. Very convenient. Not only that, as they are a global organisation I can wander into a branch in many countries of the world. I went to the branch in the centre of Dubai, just because I could (how sad is that?). Handy for travelling bods like me, though.
DOG AND BONE Telephone banking cropped up in the mid 1990s after a number of industries had cottoned on to call centres. The fact that most people now had touch tone phones coupled with improvements in the telephone exchange infrastructure meant that a room full of phone lines was now a cheap and viable way of doing business.
This method of banking increased in popularity with and spawned new companies like First Direct (now also part of the HSBC Group), who led the way in this industry. Being a phone only bank they were able to offer services that the High Street Banks couldn't like 24 hour opening - you could now pay your gas bill a 2 o’clock in the morning. Marvellous. As with all new innovations it didn't take the rest of the industry long to catch up and the upshot was I discovered I could now carry out all my HSBC transactions over the phone. I cannot overstate the magnitude of this discovery. It was a boon.
To enable your telephone banking facility you simply need to register a few security details, such as Mother's Maiden Name, Date of Birth, that sort of thing and select a six digit security number. When you call you enter your account number and branch sort code and you are requested to enter two digits from your security number (e.g. the recorded voice will ask: "enter the third digit..."etc). Then you're in. If you mess up then you have a couple of extra chances before the system puts you through to the operator.
You're automatically given the balance of the account you came through on (you entered the account number, remember) and then it's through to a menu of options. I’m not going to list these exhaustively, because it encompasses all the transactions you're likely to want to perform: transferring cash between accounts, reviewing the past weeks transactions and all that good stuff.
If you want to pay a bill then you have to wait to speak to an operator. This is the annoying part, because that usually does mean a wait, depending on the time of day and generally around a minute or two. However, get this, when you get through to the operator, they already have your details on the screen! You don't have to repeat all your personal information like other phone services I have used. After that it's easy to set up a regular or one off payment to your credit card or gas company etc. as long as you have all the relevant details to hand.
When I deal with HSBC on the phone, the operators, of multifarious regional accents are unfailingly polite and helpful and appear to know what they are doing.
ONLINE Of course, all huge corporations want to cut costs by getting rid of those pesky, costly staff and what better way than to have the customers do the work themselves! And so it was that Internet banking was born.
Yet another advance in technology which brought us a new breed of bankers with companies like Egg and Smile. Due to its nature of having low staff and property overheads they were able to offer interest rates that blew the High Street Banks out of the water, attracting much custom. Naturally the big boys wanted a piece of the action and so many bought or created their own Internet banking firm.
I discovered the HSBC Internet facility this year and was well chuffed. After happening upon it one day, I decided to see how easy it would be to join up. I entered my account number. I entered my branch sort code. I entered my security number (that I picked for the phone banking) and I was in and connected up to all the accounts I have with this bank in one easy motion. IT WAS A PIECE OF PISS. This is what we want. Ease of use.
I was told that I would be sent a special Internet Banking number for subsequent logging in (it came in the post two days later), part of a sensible security set up.. If you haven't got your special number you can go through with your account number and sort code again. Pas de problem. For the record they use 128-bit encryption, and the site itself "feels" robust.
Once logged in you can call up the My Accounts page (use the quick button or the menu at the side) and you’ll get a list of all the accounts you have with the bank. Click on the account you want to deal with and off you go. You can get a list of transactions between whichever dates you specify, cancel direct debits, transfer funds, make payments and all that good stuff.
The online banking page is clearly set up; functionality is menu-driven and pretty much self-explanatory, although there is a user guide if required. Additional functions enable you to change your address or personal details and you can call up the terms and conditions so you’re always kept informed.
This service was easier to register with, understand and navigate around than my other Online account with the Abbey National. It's been well designed with the user in mind, is quick, easy on the eye and free of distractions like adverts and animations. This is also another handy service for us travelling bods.
CASHING UP Well, I seem to have managed to write 1500 words on banking. What a spanner. But to conclude, HSBC offer the kinds of services that you should demand from your bank. They provide a good level of service with courteous and helpful staff. They have taken good advantage of available technology and have used it to good effect. It's one thing less I have to worry about.
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May 29th, 2002
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